NATURALNESS OF SUBTITLES ON DVD MOVIES

ADE AINI NURAN

ABSTRACT

This study is aimed at analyzing the naturalness of subtitles on DVD movies. The objective of the study is to investigate the naturalness of language in the subtitles on DVD movies and the factors that influence the naturalness of subtitles on DVD movies. The instrument of this study is DVD player. A good or not subtitle appeared based on the background of the translator. Any kind of translation involves not only the languages, but also culture in the countries or regions where these languages are spoken. Translation is not only changing writings from one language to another, words by words, or sentences by sentences, but also interpretation of cultural differences.

naturalness, subtitles, movies Introduction

At present, DVD (short for Digital Video Disc) movies can be found everywhere and anytime in little pieces that are affected by technology. DVD as the latest satisfying entertainment in widescreen format now offers various options with different language dubbing and subtitling. Many movies are transferred into many countries with different subtitles, depending on the target language or the country that adopted the movie. Subtitle is a printed translation of the dialogue(s) of a foreign- language film shown at the bottom of the screen. Subtitles on screen are seen almost everyday, everywhere on television, film screen, and nowadays on DVD. Subtitle is the key to understand the meaning of the contents in foreign languages. In DVD movie, the subtitle can be natural or unnatural, depending on that the translation that makes sense; and that it reads naturally, that it is written in ordinary language, the common grammar, idioms and words that meet that kind of situation.

Sometimes, clumsy words or phrases are found in the translation from source language (SL) into target language (TL). To exemplify, here are some of them: - Please don’t bore everyone with your question (SL) - Jangan banyak tanya (TL) - It’s spooky! (SL) - Omong kosong (TL) The appropriateness of subtitle is determined by the background of the translator. Any kind of translation involves not only the languages, but also the cultures of the countries or regions where these languages are spoken. In many translation projects, there are advisors or consultants who are willing to help the translator. The translator(s) will expect that the consultant is interested in three matters: 1) accuracy of content, 2) naturalness of style, and 3) effect on the receptor language audience. It is important that translators check their materials with a trained consultant after completing a section or two of a long document, so that, more or less the subtitle that is natural.

Translation Translation is the interpreting of the meaning of a text and the subsequent production of an equivalent text, likewise called a translation, that communicates the same message in another language. The text to be translated is called the source text, and the language that it is to be translated into is called the target language; the final product is sometimes called the target text. Translation is the act of translating, removing, transferring, removal, also the state of being translated or removed; as, the translation of Enoch; the translation of a bishop. A Russian- born American structuralist Jakobson (Jakobson, R. 2000, Munday, 2001) distinguishes three kind of translation, (1) Intralingual translation, or rewording (an interpretation of verbal signs by means of other signs in the same language), (2) Interlingual translation or translation proper (an interpretation of verbal signs by means of some other language), and (3) Intersemiotic translation or transmutation (an interpretation of verbal signs by means of signs of nonverbal sign systems). The practice of translation itself had been done for quite long time since the beginning of the first century is a good instance and evidence of the translation practice. The model used in that time is presently best known as literal translation, even though the meaning of the term ‘literal’ had many times repositioned (Munday, J. 2001). Naturalness Naturalness means that the language used in the Target Text (TT), in this case Indonesian subtitle, sounds natural in Indonesian children’s ears (the audience of the movie). The theory of the ‘naturalness’ is referred by Nida’s theory (2000) of equivalence and the German scholar Koller’s korrespondenze and aquivalenze (Munday, 2001, Nida, 2000). Newmark (1988), on the other hand, insists that the translator have to ensure two basic procedures to meet the naturalness, namely; the translation should make sense, and the translation reads naturally. Although Nida (2000) and Newmark (1988) employ different approaches to the naturalness of the translation, they both point to the same target of naturalness that readers or audience will not be annoyed by the strangeness of the TT text which may be affected by the ST structure. According to Nida (2000) in his early work introducing the science of translation, the success of translation depends above all on achieving equivalent response.

Factors Influencing the Process of Translating There are three important factors in translating texts, they are: linguistic factors, culture factors, and the translator’s personal condition factors.

1. Linguistic Factors Linguistic factors exert a direct and crucial influence upon the process of translating. Each of the linguistic factors, phonological, lexical, syntactic and textual, can interfere with translation. It can safely be assumed that interlingual differences constitute a main source of translation difficulties.

2. Cultural Factors Translating works to bridge the cultural gap between two worlds and make communication possible between different linguistic communities. Translating, which involves two languages, is unavoidably influenced by two cultures, the source culture and the target culture. The following discussion will look at how both intercultural and also intra-cultural factors influence the translation process.

3. Personal Factors The personal factors in question, which account for many of the differences between various translations of the same source, are subtle and complex. In the personal competence, it is given that a translator has to be competent in source language interpretation and target language representation, and has to have special knowledge and experience in the field concerned. In attitudinal factors involve the individual translator’s subjective orientations within a certain historical and cultural context. This discussion of the factors influencing the process of translating demonstrates just how complex a task translation is. Each of these factors can seriously interfere with the translator’s judgment and selection, and ultimately materialize in one form or another in the final translation. A clear and systematic understanding of the existence and operation of these factors may help us grasp the complicated and design effective strategies to counter negative influences.

Movies Movies (also known as films or motion pictures) are a type of visual communication which use moving pictures and sound to tell stories or inform (help people to learn about new ideas), people in every part of the world watch movies as a type of entertainment; a way to have fun.

Fiction Movie Fiction is an imaginative form of narrative, one of the four basic rhetorical modes. Although the word fiction is derived from the Latin fingo, fingere, finxi, fictum, "to form, create", works of fiction need not be entirely imaginary and may include real people, places, and events.  Action Action movies have a lot of exciting effects like car chases and gun fights, involving stuntmen. Action movies are a film genre wherein the story is largely told through physical action as opposed to dialog. The action typically involves individual efforts on the part of the hero. While action has long been an element of films, the "Action film" as a genre of its own began to develop in the 1970s. The genre is closely linked with the thriller and adventure film genres.  Thriller Thrillers are usually about a mystery, strange event, or crime that needs to be solved. The audience is kept guessing until the final minutes, when there are usually 'twists' in the plot (surprises). Thrillers often overlap with mystery stories, but are distinguished by the structure of their plots. In a thriller, the hero must thwart the plans of an enemy, rather than uncover a crime that has already happened; and while a murder mystery would be spoiled by a premature disclosure of the murderer's identity, in a thriller the identity of a murderer or other villain in typically known all along.

 Comedies Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humor. Also, films in this style typically have a happy ending (the black comedy being an exception). One of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies were comedies. Comedy, unlike other film genres, puts much more focus on individual stars, with many former stand-up comic transitioning to the film industry due to their popularity.

 Buddy Buddy Movies involve two heroes, one must save the other, and both must overcome obstacles. Buddy movies often involve comedy, but there is also some emotion, because of the close friendship between the 'buddies'. Example: the Lethal Weapon series or Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid.

 Science fiction Science Fiction movies are set in the future or in outer space. Some use their future or alien settings to ask questions about the meaning of life or how we should think about life. Science fiction movies often use special effects to create images of alien worlds, outer space, alien creatures, and spaceships, for example the Alien series.

 Western Western Movies tell stories about cowboys living in the western part of the United States in the 1800s. They are usually real Action movies, but with historical costume. They may or may not involve Indians (Native Americans). The Western is a fiction genre seen in film, television, radio, literature, painting and other visual arts.

 Horror Movies Horror movies use fear to excite the audience. Music, lighting and sets (man-made places in film studios where the film is made) are all designed to add to the feeling. Horror films are movies that strive to elicit the emotions of fear, horror and terror from viewers. Their plots frequently involve themes of death, the supernatural or mental illness. Many horror movies also include a central villain

 Animation Animated movies use childish images like talking pigs to tell a story. These films used to be drawn by hand, one frame at a time, but are now made on computers. The first major animated film, still highly respected by audiences and the movie industry is Fantasia by Walt Disney, made in 1946. This film has no dialogue (speaking) but uses Classical music. Simple stories are shown with action being in time to the music.

 Documentary Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to "document" reality. Although "documentary film" originally referred to movies shot on film stock, it has subsequently expanded to include video and digital productions that can be either direct-to-video or made for a television series. Documentary as it applies here, works to identify a "filmmaking practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception" that is continually evolving and is without clear boundaries.

Subtitle Subtitle is a printed translation of the text of a foreign- language film shown at the bottom of the screen. Subtitles can be seen on screen almost everyday, everywhere; on television, film screen, and nowadays on DVD. Usually the viewers watch the programs and read subtitles without thinking or knowing how the translation has been done. Subtitle is the key to understand the meaning of the contents in foreign languages. Any kind of translation involves not only the languages, but also culture in the countries or regions where these languages are spoken. Translation is not only changing writings from one language to another, words by words, or sentences by sentences, but also interpretation of cultural differences. Adding to the complexity of the usual translation, translation for subtitles for films and television programs involves very unique and interesting procedure which does not exist in other works of translation. In this paper I would like to explain how the translation for subtitles, specifically in television programs, is done, based on my working experience.

Digital Videodisc (DVD) DVD, also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc," is an optical disc storage media format. Its main uses are video and data storage. DVDs are of the same dimensions as compact discs (CDs) but store more than six times as much data. DVD-Video and DVD-Audio discs respectively refer to properly formatted and structured video and audio content. Other types of DVDs, including those with video content, may be referred to as DVD- Data discs.

Suggestions Subtitle has a very important role to make the watchers get a better message of the movie. In relation to the conclusions, suggestions are staged as the following: 1. For the translators, subtitles will ease watchers of film to get the send message therefore, words, phrases, and sentences they use to represent message in the source language of film should be made by considering the background of linguistics, cultural, and personal factors. 2. Vocabulary is one important thing to master English language, so watching film will enable them proficient in pronouncing words, phrases, and sentences of target language. 3. Practicing the way the actors and the actress utter words, phrases, and sentences in the movies and seeing the subtitles at the same time can help them mastering way of speaking and getting the message well.

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